Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) quickly fired his chief of staff late Saturday night after “allegations of improper conduct” surfaced.
"Yesterday afternoon, I was made aware, for the first time, of allegations of improper conduct by my chief of staff while under the employment of my office,"Rubio said in a statement.
"By early this afternoon, I had sufficient evidence to conclude that while employed by this office, my chief of staff had violated office policies regarding proper relations between a supervisor and their subordinates. I further concluded that this led to actions which in my judgement amounted to threats to withhold employment benefits."
Adding, "We have taken steps to ensure that those impacted by this conduct have access to any services they may require now or in the future," he said. "Pursuant to the wishes of those victimized by this conduct, we will not be disclosing any further details about the incidents which occurred."
Sen. Rubio also said, "This evening, I traveled from Florida to Washington D.C. and terminated his employment effective immediately." Reed had been working for Rubio since October 2015. Reed began his tenure with Rubio as Iowa state director in the 2016 GOP presidential primaries. Sen. Rubio’s statement did not mention Reed by name.
Statement from Marco Rubio: https://t.co/Luc1SbElp2 pic.twitter.com/PYPFayeMgo
— Senator Rubio Press (@SenRubioPress) January 28, 2018
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Rubio's office declined further office out of respect for the wishes of those victimized. Reed's firing comes off the heels of another high profile sexual misconduct scandal rocking the GOP. RNC Finance chairman Steve Wynn was forced into resignation after allegations of sexual impropriety from various staffers and co-workers came to light.